Rest In Peace Eta’s Sour Cream and Chives Dressing

Words by Ash Putt-Fallows (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Tūhoe; she/her)

In 2017, my whānau faced one of its greatest losses when Eta’s Sour Cream & Chives Dressing was heartlessly taken off supermarket shelves. 

When reflecting on this loss, I first spoke to my nan.“It was really nice dressing,” she said. My whānau has never been too talkative about this kind of stuff. Her dog Bella also made it clear what her position on the dressing was by barking loudly.

My mum said: “Def agree was a devastating loss.” She also asked if I was somehow going to get Eta to start making the dressing again with three question marks. It's hard watching a family member in denial. 

My little sister Jess was one of the more affected family members, as potato salad is one of her  “favs''. She recounted a moving story: “Potato salad was something I was raised on. It was the foundation of my childhood and something that brought our family together. No matter what disagreements everyone had, a nice bowl of potato salad with the Sour Cream & Chives Dressing always brought us closer together. I remember the day they took [the dressing] off the shelves so vividly. We were searching for it, ready to make the delicious and heartwarming potato salad for Christmas. Our search was unsuccessful. Devastated, we ventured home thinking that it must just be out of stock. Upon arriving home we did some research and found out that the sauce had been discontinued. This moment was the true Great Depression. Shortly after, our family turned from one that was caring and loving to one that was constantly at each other's throats. I can’t even tell you the last time I spoke to some of my cousins. And to think that this could’ve all been avoided if Eta kept making its silly little sauce.” 

I reached out to Eta for a comment. I asked why they would do something so heartless, so evil. Their response? “Usually, when we take a product off the shelves, it’s due to one of two reasons. It either wasn’t selling enough or we could no longer source the ingredients.” Clearly it wasn’t lacking in sales. We bought enough to sustain the whole company. Just tragic.

I would also like to acknowledge my poor, poor aunties who were drastically affected by the loss of the Sour Cream & Chives Dressing. I considered reaching out for comments, but ultimately I feared it would create too much stress. 

To this day, my whānau and I are still healing from the loss of Eta’s Sour Cream & Chives Dressing. We struggle to talk about it. However, every Christmas we have a solemn minute of silence as we eat, and someone usually notes that “the old dressing tasted better.” 

Ngā mihi.